Air cleaner for internal combustion engines



May 25, 1937. E. c. HORTON 2,081,668

AIR CLEANER FOR-INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed March 25, 1955 INVENTOR ATTO RN EYS Patented May 25, 1937 UNETED STATES PATENT OFFICE Erwin C. Horton, Hamburg, N. Y., assignor to Trico Products (lfirporation, Bufialo, N. Y.

Application March 25, 1935, Serial No. 12,935

4 Claims.

This invention relates to an air cleaner for internal combustion engines and has particular reference to that type of cleaner in which an air screen or filter member is partly submerged or caused to dip into a bath of washing liquid.

Air cleaners of this type have heretofore been designed in the form of a revolving screen, the lower arc of which is caused to pass through a bath of oil or other washing liquid as the screen is slowly revolved by an electric motor. In the constructions heretofore designed, the driving mechanism and its parts have been quite intricate and expensive to manufacture and, by reason of the electric drive, the storage battery is subjected to a further drain over and above that to which it is already subjected in the present day motor vehicles.

Air cleaners of this general design have been used as a part of the equipment for tractors and other motor vehicles which are frequently placed in operation in territories in which the air is often filled with clouds of dust, and it is therefore essential that the cleaner operate efliciently so as to remove the fine particles of grit before passage into the engine cylinders.

The present invention has for its object to provide an improved cleaner unit in which the aircleaning function is performed in a more satisfactory and efiicient manner, and further 30 to provide a unit wherein the power for its operation is derived from the low pressure or suction influences induced in the operation of the motor vehicle engine.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section 35 through the air cleaner unit, depicting one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the unit in the plane of the screen.

Fig. 3 is a similar view through the rotor cham- 40 her of the turbine.

The air filter may be of any approved type having parts movable for the purpose of ridding the same from the collected dust. Preferably the filter is equipped with a cleansing liquid bath,

45 as that embodiment herein illustrated.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the air filter or screen which is shown as being cylindrical in design and closed at one end by a closed head 2 and at 50 its opposite end by a perforated or foraminous head 3. The cylinder is provided with a hub 4 for rotational mounting upon the shaft 5 and by which it is supported in a casing or housing 6.

The housing is provided at appropriate places 65 with air induction openings 1 through which air may enter for passage through the foraminous periphery of the cylinder I and out through the end Wall 3 into a chamber 8, which in turn is connected, as by the socket 9 to the air intake of the engine carburetor (not shown). Conse- 5 quently, practically all the air admitted to the carburetor will be caused to travel through the cleaner cylinder. The lower arcual portion of the screening cylinder extends into a bath of oil or other washing liquid, and in order to increase 1 the wet surface area over which the dust laden air is to pass, the periphery of the cylinder is provided with a series of outstanding rings or plates I 0. The cylinder is slowly rotated when in operation and consequently freshly washed surface portions of the cylinder and its plates l0 are continuously rising from the bath within the housing 6 and into the path of the inflowing air. The dust laden surface areas of the screening member are at the same time being immersed in and carried through the washing liquid to be cleansed of the collected particles of dust. A bafile plate II is provided to insure proper directional flow of air through the cylinder.

According to the present invention, an air motor is utilized for slowly revolving the cleaning cylinder, the drawing showing a turbine type air motor which has a chambered casing I2 and a rotor I3. The rotor is provided with a hub I4 which is journaled in the chamber l5 of the casing, and such casing is provided with an air nozzle l6, so arranged within the chamber l5 as to cause a jet of air to impinge on the blades ll of the rotor. The outlet port I8 of the chamber is connected by a passage l9 to the source of low pressure such as the intake manifold of the internal combustion engine, not shown.

The point of connection to the manifold is preferably at the engine side of the throttle 40 wherein the suction influence is more pronounced when the throttle valve is closed and less noticeable when the throttle is opened. -Consequently, the discharge of air from the jet IE will likewise be variable, varying more or less in its intensity according to the suction influence at its source. The rotor therefore will be drivenat varying speeds, and when the throttle is in closed position, and the engine idling, the higher degree of suction will increase the rotative speed of the rotor and likewise the rotative speed of the screening cylinder. This increase in the rotative speed of the screening cylinder, as it dips into and passes through the washing bath, will tend to cleanse more thoroughly the wet surfaces of their gritty and dusty deposits and when the throttle valve is next opened to increase the speed of the engine a cleaner and greater surface area will be presented to the increased air flow. Consequently, the movement of the screen through the bath will be more or less intermittent, accelerating at intervals and thereby tending to more thoroughly wash the screen of the adhering foreign particles.

The turbine may have its rotative speed reduced through the reduction gearing 20 as its power is transmitted to the hub 4 of the cylinder, the same being detachably connected to the hub by interengaging clutch parts 2| on the opposing ends of the hub and the driven shaft 22. The shaft 22 is illustrated as being journaled in a bearing 24 and may be provided with an axial bore 25 to receive the adjacent end of the shaft 5 for giving support thereto. The jet I6 is connected by passage 26 to the chamber 8 so that clean air will be used in driving the rotor. This will insure the entire air supply to the intake manifold being screened. The speed of the turbine may be determined by the valve 21. The motor drive is readily attachable and detachable from the housing 6 so as to facilitate repair and replacement of the several parts. The screening cylinder is renderedaccessible by removal of the closure 6.

The operation of the cleaner unit, according to the present disclosure, depends on the operation of the internal combustion engine and will operate only when, through the engine operation, there is low pressure influences in the intake manifold. A portion of the purified air, being removed through the passage 24, is carried over into the turbine to drive the same, such air flow being induced through the passage Hi to the intake manifold at a point where the suction ini'luence is more pronounced, thus setting up the required pressure differential to cause such air flow. As the engine is continuously operating the screening cylinder is slowly revolving so as to present freshly washed surface areas to the inflowing air and to remove the dust laden surfaces to the bath. Incidental to the operation of the engine, the movement of the dust laden surfaces through the washing liquid will be variable and irregular and thereby result in a more eilicient washing action due to such agitative action.

What is claimed is:

1. An air cleaner for internal combustion engines, comprising, in combination with the intake manifold of the internal combustion engine and the air intake of its carburetor, a movable air screening member, a liquid bath through which the screening member is moved for wetting surface portions thereof, means for directing an air flow over the exposed wet surface portions of the screening member, a suction operated motor operatively connected to the screening member for so moving the same through the bath, a suction passage from the motor to the intake manifold, and an air inlet leading into the motor from the down stream side of the screening member, whereby the air drawn through the motor for actuating the same will be cleaned before entering the manifold.

2. An air cleaner for internal combustion engines, comprising, in combination with the intake manifold of the internal combustion engine and the air intake of its carburetor, a movable air screening member, a liquid bath through which the screening member is slowlymoved, a housing for the screening member provided with air inflow means at the up stream side of the screening member and an outlet chamber at the down stream side of the screening member, means for connecting the chamber to the air intake of the carburetor, a suction operated motor operatively connected to the screening member for driving the latter continuously, said motor having an air inlet opening communicating with such chamber and an air outlet member communicating with the intake manifold, whereby the variable suction influences in the latter will accelerate the motor at intervals and effect an irregular movement of the screening member through the bath.

3. An air cleaner for internal combustion engines, comprising, in combination with the intake manifold of the internal combustion engine and the air intake of its carburetor, a movable air screening member, a liquid bath through which the screening member is agitated, a housing for the screening member provided with air inflow means at the up stream side of the screening member and an outlet chamber at the down stream side thereof, means for connecting the chamber to the air intake of the carburetor, and asuction operated motor having an air inlet opening communicating with such chamber and an air outlet member communicating with the intake manifold, said motor being detachably mounted on the housing and having its air inlet communication established and broken upon the mounting and demounting of the motor.

4. An air cleaner for internal combustion engines comprising an air screening member, a

housing for the member provided with air inflow and air outflow chambers, said screening member being interposed between said chambers to screen the air flowing therebetween, a washing bath for the screening member, means for mov-' ing portions of the screening member into and out of the bath, and an-air operated motor having air inflow communication with the outlet chamber and an outflow passage adapted for connection to the intake manifold of the engine whereby screened air is by-passed through the motor into the manifold for actuating the motor.

ERWIN C. HORTON. 

